Not Taking Chances
by Dyna Dee
Summary: Yaoi, Holiday story.  Sequel to last year's Chance Encounter. Duo and Milliardo exchange gifts once again.


**Not Taking Chances**  
Sequel to last year's story, A Chance Encounter

**Dyna Dee**

warnings: male/ male relationships, sap.

Milliardo Peacecraft walked briskly back to his office immediately after the daily meeting with Director Une and her top agents ended. He was thinking that Duo was just one of those people who drew the attention of others to himself without trying. That unasked for attention could be attributed to his thick, beautiful, meter-long chestnut colored hair, his blue-violet eyes or even his winning smile. He definitely stood out amongst his fellow, serious minded preventer agents, like the group who had attended the meeting that had just ended. One added accessory to his standard uniform had made Duo the center of attention this morning. For on top of his head Duo sported that wonderful, ridiculous Christmas hat he'd worn the previous year. It featured a prominent red velvet coil that spiraled up from a rim of white fur, reaching at least a foot straight above Duo's head. At the tip was a bell hidden beneath a fluffy white tassel that bounced and jingled whenever his head or body moved.

He had fond memories of that hat. It served as a reminder of the day his life had changed for the better. Almost overnight, his days had became more than simply something to endure. He now woke up each morning excited for what the day might bring. He was a happy man, filled with gratitude.

Not so long ago he had been considered a temperamental, surly and a generally unhappy man. But that was no longer the case. He now thought himself the luckiest man on the planet, was enthusiastic about life and, best of all, he was deliriously happy... and it showed This change began one year ago, almost to the day, when he literally bumped into Duo Maxwell while Christmas shopping.

The bounce in his step this morning was most definitely attributed to that same, very special individual. During the meeting earlier, when Une had momentarily turned her back, Duo had slipped him a note on the sly. Written in his familiar block-style writing, the note stated, _I've got something for you, and I think you're gonna love it. Meet me in your office after this snooze fest?_

To answer his lover's request, he'd crossed his ankles and set off his Christmas socks. The first few electronic notes earned him not only a few sniggers from the other officers present, but also an immediate glare and verbal warning from Une to "Ditch the socks." The twitch at the corners of her mouth, however, indicated she was more amused than perturbed by the tinny rendering of Jingle Bells. Duo's grin and barely suppressed laughter was worth the director's censure. My how things have changed, he thought again, and thank God. And it was all due to his five-foot six imp of a boyfriend.

He didn't even try suppressing the grin that came naturally whenever he thought about Duo. The younger man was undoubtedly the best thing to happen to him in a very long time. Quickening his stride, he turned yet another corner, pondering in his mind over what Duo wanted to show him. He was fairly certain his boyfriend wasn't thinking of anything physical, at least not at work. With one embarrassing exception, they'd been fairly discrete about their budding relationship during the past twelve months, neither of them wanting the Preventer gossip mill to make fodder of what was happening between them. Duo was of a mind that it was no one's business that they were dating, and he happened to agree. But the more he fell in love with the sassy former gundam pilot and fellow Preventer, the more he wanted the world to know Duo had chosen him.

Stepping into his office, he went straight to his desk. Reaching it, he opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a small, four-inch square box that was wrapped in pale blue foil and trimmed with a silver ribbon and beautiful matching bow. He was nervous about this gift, wondering what Duo's reaction was going to be. His one consolation, after the hours hours he'd spent working to present this to Duo, moments from now, was that all of his doubts and the second-guessing were about to end. He was taking a bit of a risk with this gift, because Duo could say no, but he didn't think he would. He'd done everything possible to assure a positive outcome. He wasn't taking any chances that Duo Maxwell might slip away from him.

The only small, dark cloud of doubt in their relationship, other than overcoming some economic and social differences, which were considerable, and that was his worrying over Duo's former lover and comrade, Heero Yuy. Yuy had taken off after the war, leaving Duo behind to question the relationship the two teenagers had during the two wars. It had been a tactical error on Yuy's part, that is if he cared at all for the boy from L2. But Yuy's leaving had been a godsend for him. His departure and continued absence had finally convinced Duo to move on... to him.

"Hey big guy." He turned at the sound of the Duo's voice, just in time to watch the braided man shut the door to his office behind him. The smaller man made quite a picture, wearing a mischievous grin while the spiral top of his unique Santa hat danced above his head. A large box, wrapped in red paper that was dotted with images of Old Saint Nick, rested in the younger man's hands.

Having slipped his own gift behind his back, out of Duo's view, Milliardo asked, "Is that for me?"

A roll of his eyes indicated his lover thought he was being silly. "Who else would I be giving a gift to, babe?" Milliardo felt his face flush with a bit of pleasure and embarrassment, a frequent reaction whenever Duo called him that.

He would usually respond by teasing his lover return, but today he wasn't in the mood for teasing, not when his heart was going on the line in the next few moments. He strode up to the shorter man and lowered his head to meet the eager lips turned up to receive him. Kissing Duo was close to Nirvana. Making love to him was even better.

Much too soon, Duo stepped back. "Alright, alright. Let's cool it before I get to the point where I can't help myself from tearing your clothes off and molesting you right here and now."

"Not a bad idea," he smirked at the face grinning at him, but he knew Duo was right, so he stepped back, catching the end of the long brown braid and holding it lightly in his right hand. "I don't think either of us wants to relived having someone walked in on us during a rather intimate moment. Wufei was not pleased last time, and the trainees he was giving a tour of the building to got a view of a couple of top preventers that will never be forgotten. And let's not forget the heated lecture Une gave us. I believe it left blisters in my ears. With a little convincing, however, I might be persuaded to remove ourselves to a more private place to follow through on that last thought. Have you finished filing your report?"

Duo had been out of town the past week, tracking reports of yet another terrorist group intent on making a name for themselves and their cause by bombing the Vatican during the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Working with the Italian police and Interpol, the Preventer team was able to help track the suspects to their lair, just outside of Rome. There they discovered enough bomb-making evidence to arrest and charge the suspects. Fortunately for both he and Duo, the case had been solved and wrapped up in an expedient manner well before Christmas.

"Here." Duo suddenly shoved the decorated box into the taller man's hands.

One blond eyebrow rose questioningly. "It's a bit early for exchanging presents, isn't it?"

"Regardless of the holiday wrap, this isn't a Christmas gift. It's to celebrate our one year anniversary."

Milliardo's smile brightened. "You remembered!"

"Of course I did," Duo replied with a cheeky grin. "It would be impossible not to remember you knocking me on my ass and all our gifts on the ground just outside of Regent's Department Store. That moment marks the beginning of me sweeping you off your feet."

"That you did," Milliardo chuckled. Leaning forward, he shifted the large gift in his hand in order to leaned down to kiss the smile off of Duo's lips, pressing his own gift into his lover's hand.

"Umm... What's this?" Duo released his boyfriend's lips to see what he'd been given

"My anniversary gift to you."

Blue-violet eyes sparkled with pleasure. "Somehow I knew you wouldn't forget. Okay, let's open them, but you go first.

Moving back to his desk, Milliardo set the box down in order to untie the bow and lift the lid. Pulling aside the tissue paper to view what was inside, he paused for a moment before carefully lifting out what looked to be a hat, one that said Santa's Helper on the tag. It appeared to be a red and white Santa hat and the white trim that went around his head looked like it might be adjustable, given the plastic band on the back. He looked at Duo only to see his lover grinning like a loon.

Flicking the top of his own hat, sending the fur ball on the end bouncing, the man with the braid explained, "Seeing as how I've got such a cool hat, I thought you should have one too. Go ahead, try it on."

After adjusting the back to what he deemed an appropriate size, he carefully placed the hat on his head and looked at the younger man. He felt rather silly, knowing he must look ridiculous. But the smile on Duo's face was worth any small hit to his ego. Adjusting it so that it sat correctly on his head, he looked again at the shorter man.

Duo was still grinning as he said, "Alright, now let's go into your bathroom so I can show you how it works."

"It works? Doing what?"

Duo grabbed his hand and pulled him towards his private bathroom. After turning on the light, Milliardo was pushed in front of the mirror. "Now watch."

Gazing at his reflection, the Prince of Sanq saw that he had been right in thinking he looked ridiculous. Though Duo looked quite charming in his own silly hat, he just didn't have the same appeal and playful demeanor his lover had.

"Now for the fun." Duo reached up to tap an invisible button on the top left corner of the rim. Immediately, a voice began to sing, _Have a holly, jolly Christmas_, at the same time the tassel of the hat began to move from one side of his head to the other, in time with the song. Every once in a while, the tassel would pause, pointing straight, to jingle the bell on the end before continuing its left to right movment. He couldn't help laughing out loud at the gift, and Duo joined in. The hat was delightful, mostly for it's ability to make the both of them laugh. Putting his arm around the shorter man's shoulders, they moved together, their hips shifting from side to side until the song was over. Their reflections in the mirror displayed two very happy men.

Bending slightly, he placed a quick kiss to Duo's pert nose before saying with complete sincerity, "Thank you for the hat. I love it."

"I'm glad, because I don't think I could handle a modern day Scrooge."

Turning him his arms, Duo eyes him appreciatively. "Honestly, Mill, you're the hottest, sexiest Santa's elf I've ever seen. Let's play the hat again."

After two more rounds of the song and watching in the mirror as the hat dance above his head, the two men finally left the bathroom, in high spirits.

"Time for you to open your gift," Milliardo said, nodding to the small package in Duo's hand.

Duo turned the small box over to examined it. After shaking it experimentally, he heard the small but distinct sound of metal hitting metal. "Well, I don't think it's jewelry, but it doesn't sound like anything electronic. Hum... what could it be?" he said more to himself than to his boyfriend.

"Go ahead and open it." Milliardo hadn't felt this nervous in a very long time.

Duo looked up, grinned, and then proceeded to enthusiastically rip the paper off the small box. Less than a minute later, he was holding up a set of keys attached to an expensive key chain, a look of concern and puzzlement on his face. "Okay, I give. What do the keys go to? And it had better not be a car, Mill. You know how I feel about you giving me expensive things."

Yes, Duo was very touchy about their economic differences. He didn't like receiving expensive gifts he could never reciprocate.

"I moved into an apartment three blocks away from here."

"No kidding?"

"I kid you not."

Duo suddenly looked very pleased, and Milliardo hoped he would continue to be pleased after he explained what the keys represented.

"That's perfect. We won't always have to meet at my place any more."

"Not any more," the blond agreed. Duo had refused to sleep with him in his rooms at the palace.

"Can we check it out now?"

It was only eleven a.m., a little too early to leave work. "Perhaps at lunch."

Duo slid his arms up his boyfriend's chest to wrap them around his neck and then pull his face down for another kiss. When he pulled back he asked, "Have you got a Prince of Sanq-sized bed?"

"King sized, of course."

Duo's smile lit up the room.

And now the moment had come to tell the other man what he'd done. There could be no stalling, equivocating or side stepping. "Duo?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to live with me. It's been a year since we began dating and I think it's time to take the next step."

Duo stepped back, a worried look replacing his former smiling countenance. "I don't know, Mil. That's a pretty big step."

"I'm ready, and I thought you were, too. Does your hesitation stem from something deeper? Do you not love me enough to make this kind of commitment?"

"No, that's not it at all!" Duo rushed to reassure him, grabbing the front of the taller man's neatly pressed Preventer shirt to earnestly say, "You know how I feel about you. You're my guy, Mill. You know you are. And I'm yours."

"Then what's the problem?"

Duo paused, then took a deep breath and exhaled while saying, "Nothing. There's no problem at all."

The blond grinned, feeling like he was gaining the upper hand. "That's a step in the right direction. Now, please tell me you're moving in with me."

"Yeah, I'll move in with you. How about after the holidays?"

Milliardo pulled his lover close and embraced him. "I'm afraid that won't do. In fact, I have a confession to make." Duo stiffened in his arms. He knew Duo wasn't fond of surprises, so he hurried to add, "I moved everything out of your apartment and into the penthouse while you were out of town."

"What?" Duo pushed back, looking shocked. "You moved my junk into some swanky apartment?"

"That I did."

Beneath the long fringe of hair, one cinnamon-colored eyebrow lifted. "You were pretty cocksure I'd say yes, weren't you?"

Milliardo chuckled. "Well, me and my cock sure were hoping you'd say yes." That earned him one of Duo's belly laughs. "Besides, I was not going to chance you over thinking everything, delaying the inevitable. Which is why I moved your belongings to the new place while you were out of town on assignment."

Duo stroked his lover's strong jaw line with a tender look in this blue-violet eyes. "It's impossible for me to say no to anything you want."

That statement deserved a knock-your-socks-off kiss.

A noise outside the office door abruptly ended the kiss and both men looked nervously towards the closed door. Seeing that no one was about to interrupt them, Duo looked down at his hand and then held up the key chain. "So what's the other key for?"

Without missing a beat the tall blond confessed, "That's the key to our country estate. I signed the papers two weeks ago."

Duo's eyes widened comically. "Why the hell would you buy a place in the country when you've got an apartment in town?"

"I've always wanted a place in the country," the blond replied. "I like the privacy it affords." Warming to the subject, he enthusiastically added, "You're going to love it, Duo. There's 20 acres of land, a stable, gardens and an indoor pool."

"Holy shit, Mill. What the hell do you do put in a stable? Is that some kind of barn?" And then it dawned on him just what that might mean. "Oh, man, that's for animals, isn't it? I am so not getting up at dawn to milk anything you've got living in that thing. No sir-ee."

Laughing, Milliardo gently cupped his lover's face with both hands. "No milking, I promise. Besides, I intend to keep only house horses, and they won't look kindly on someone trying to milk them." It took all he had in him to not laugh again at the picture in his head of Duo trying to milk a horse.

Duo looked relieved. "Well, that's nice to know."

A knock at the door sounded. "Duo, you in there?"

"Yeah. Come in, Wu, it's safe."

The door opened and the Chinese agent cautiously entered, impecibly dressed and the seams on his pants were such that he looked like he'd just stepped out of a laundry press. "I should think so," he replied before giving them both an appraising look that stopped at the top of the tall blond's head.

"Oh, nice look, Peacecraft. Is the hat a gift from Maxwell?" Before either man could speak, Wufei answered the question himself. "What am I saying, of course it's from him. Who else would have the audacity to give a prince such a ridiculous thing?"

Reaching up to touch his new hat, Millardo said, "It's a good look for me, don't you think?"

The Chinese man rolled his eyes. "He's completely corrupted you." Then to Duo he said, "If you have a moment, I'd like to speak to you about a case I'm having some difficulty with."

"Sure. Let's go to my office and give Mill his space back."

Wufei gave a brief nod to Milliardo before turning to leave the room.

"Guess I'll catch you at noon?" Duo suggestively wiggled his eyebrows and then, with a swirl of his head, sent the tassel of his hat flying like a whirligig.

Winking at his grinning boyfriend, the blond teased, "Unless I catch you first."

And then Duo was gone, the slight jingle of the bell hidden within the tassel of his hat reported each of his retreating steps. Alone once more, the blond removed the silly hat from his head and studied it a moment. Wufei was right; this was something only Duo would give him. Maybe that was the reason they fit so well together. Duo saw him as a person first, a boyfriend, not a prince, not the man who almost send Libra crashing into the Earth.

He smiled as he pushed the button once more, activating the music, the tassel moving in time. Since Duo had entered his life, he'd come to enjoy so much more, even silly things. He was both relieved and thrilled that Duo had accepted the invitation to move in with him. Yes, things were looking up and he couldn't help but think the future looked very bright indeed.

He was pleasantly lost in thought until the hat stilled once more and the room fell silent. Gently setting it on his desk, Milliardo couldn't help but think that this Christmas would be his best ever. His happiness would have nothing to do with gifts or the parties he'd been invited to. No, all he needed was Duo, making a home with him. And this was only the beginning. He hoped to spend not only this and every holiday season with the man who owned his heart and was teaching him how to enjoy life. What better gift could there be when compared to that?

He looked out the window at the falling snow, and in this moment of happiness he felt nothing but good will towards his fellow man. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the world could know the kind of happiness he was feeling. "Merry Christmas," he whispered, not to anyone in particular, but to everyone, everywhere. He glanced at his watch and and smiled. Minus thiry minutes and counting until lunch time.

**The End?**

Author note: Surprise! See, I haven't left the fandom completely. Honestly, I am trying to write, but free time is so rare these days. Merry Christmas everyone! Peace and goodwill to you. IF I can squeeze out some more time, there might be another part to this story. Don't you think Heero should make an appearance?


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